3. Opening remarks of the Chair.

Thank you, Lyle.

I would like to welcome all of the voting members to this special meeting for purposes of electing a FIDE representative.

We will also be asking the voting members to approve Patricia Gamliel as a very capable addition to the board of directors.

Finally we will clean up the language in our bylaw with regard to officers on the board of directors and make it clear that when we say executive it is synonymous with board of directors.

There is a point of order by the vice president which we will deal with in the thread dealing with the Patricia Gamliel appointment.

It has always been my hope and dream that the CFC could be an organization which unites all Canadians, men, women, boys, girls of every race, creed and skin pigment and sexual orientation. Chess is a universal language which everyone can share and we can all come to appreciate and understand along a continuum which extends up to the world champion and down to the newest beginner. FIDE, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and the Canadian government ask us to meet certain targets by a certain date December 31st, 2022 to bring more women into positions of authority as arbiters, chess officials and federation officials. There are studies that show that companies who bring more women into positions of authority experience better results. It only makes sense if you look for the best person for the job without limiting or restricting your candidates to one sex, you will find better candidates and get better results.

We all have or have had at least one of the following: wives, daughters, girlfriends, nieces, mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins and friends of the opposite sex. These friends and relatives are often capable people who we trust as lawyers, doctors, confidants, therapists, teachers, sensei's and counsellors. Women have reached the highest levels of politics. It is time that we show that we want our daughters and nieces to have the same opportunities as our sons and nephews. We could double the size of our membership by becoming more welcoming to girls and women. We usually start out with an equal interest in chess in young children of both sexes. Somehow along the way the girls find themselves pushed out. We have had many great leaders in the chess community who were women. There have been many in the past and there are many out there now. Some of them are voting members and one is on the executive in Christina Tao. Leadership is not limited to those with a Y chromosome.

In the course of the discussion for these threads there have been some unfortunate statements made. The patriarchy pushes back and bristles at the idea that we should embrace women as equals with ideas thet can bring our game forward into the wider public. Lets try something different if just for six months until the next AGM. In the last few years we added one woman to the board and most agree that Christina Tao is very effective in her job as youth coordinator. Lets bring in another effective woman and see what magic we can accomplish in those six months. I am asking the voting members to take a leap of faith and put a very effective person on the board, being Patricia Gamliel. Google her record. Imagine someone like that working to tell the story of the CFC to corporate boards and government and the Canadian Olympic Committee. Give her a chance to show you what she can do. She is interested in human rights. She has won cases against the federal government. She is already working for the FIDE social committee. She could be working to help advance the CFC. Give her a chance.